Outside Forward Translated

琴清流楚激弦商 Guchin’s sound floats clear and bright, then plunges,

秦曲发声悲摧藏 Chin’s desolate melody pours from the player’s fingers—

音和咏思惟空堂 Peaceful music floats in an empty hall

心忧增慕怀惨伤 The heart is sad, sick with longing.

仁智怀德圣虞唐 The kindhearted sages, virtuous emperors Tangyao and Yú Shùn:

贞妙显华重荣章 Holy, they finely showed honorable displays of power to imitate.

臣贤惟圣配英皇 Because of his virtue, minister Shùn was the only match for Yao’s daughters Ehuang and Nvying,

伦匹离飘浮江湘 But us, we are separate, floating and drifting like the waters of Yiangzi and Xian.

津河隔塞殊山梁 Ferry the Yellow River! We are separated by many mountain ridges

民生感旷悲路长 Do both of us ponder the wide distance with sorrow?

身微悯己处幽房 I grieve for my own powerlessness, living alone in a secluded house

人贱为女有柔刚 I can only wait for you; Fate made me helpless.

or Your judgement clouded, you desire a worthless woman

所怀想思谁望纯 Who do I wholeheartedly wish and hope for?

清志杰齐水霜新 My heart is clean as water, clear as frost

故感意殊面墙春 “Out with the old, in with the new”—while I have remained the same, you have changed.

阳熙茂凋兰芳琴 Bright springtime has come, but beauty easily fades like a fragrant orchid withers.

湘江浮飘离匹伦 Wandering, separated by rivers and lakes, beyond the horizon,

皇英配圣惟贤臣 He was the only saint who eventually would match Ehuang and Nvying.

章荣重华显妙贞 Yú Shùn’s significant merit brought the kingdom lifetimes of peace and glory.

唐虞圣德怀智仁 The virtuous Tang Yao and Yú Shùn had moral character and great wisdom.

仁伤惨怀慕增忧 Endless grief increasingly worries my heart,

心堂空惟思咏和 Empty, my heart knows only endless longing

音藏摧悲声发曲 The guchin’s song is sometimes high as a wild wind, singing sorrowfully

秦商弦激楚流清 Sometimes falling low, like a gentle brook, telling the player’s heartfelt wishes.

琴芳兰凋茂熙阳 This music is pleasant, fits the heavy incensed air; wilted flowers and lush plants in the warm sunshine

春墙面殊意感故 Cover a wall— spring brings different faces, but still I am lonely and miss my lover

新霜水齐杰志清 Like a new frost or clear water, his fair purpose

纯望谁思想怀所 I hope for; my bosom yearns for my husband.

刚柔有女为贱人 Yin and Yang made me inferior—I can only wait

or You cannot distinguish good from bad, have loved the nasty person

房幽处己悯微身 I am one person alone in a secluded house, full of pity and remorse

长路悲旷感生民 My loneliness drags on, year after year, the hours feel endless.

梁山殊塞隔河津 We are in different places, separated by mountains and rivers.

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